Three strikes, $3 billion: Another satellite in trouble

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A military communication satellite worth $800 million ran into trouble Friday shortly after being hoisted into space by the Air Force's most powerful rocket.

The Air Force declined to provide specifics on the problem. If the satellite is lost or in the wrong orbit, it would be the third failure in a row for the Air Force's Titan IV rocket team.

Everything appeared to go well as the Titan IV lifted off early Friday afternoon, delayed 112 hours by minor technical problems and overnight thunderstorms. Six hours after liftoff, officials announced that a news conference was being convened.

Because the Milstar program is partly classified, Air Force officials have to go through security reviews before releasing any information once the satellite was in orbit.

An upper-stage Centaur rocket was supposed to boost the Defense Department's newest Milstar satellite into a 22,300-mile-high orbit, where the first Milstar was placed in 1994 and the second in 1995. In all, six such satellites were planned to provide secure, jam-proof communication between U.S. military commanders and troops in the field.

A different type of upper-stage motor malfunctioned three weeks ago, leaving a missile-warning satellite in a useless orbit following its launch aboard a Titan IV. In August, one of the rockets and a spy satellite were destroyed in an explosion shortly after liftoff.

Friday's mission alone cost $1.23 billion.

The Milstar program was criticized by the General Accounting Office last fall as outdated and inefficient. The satellites were conceived during the Cold War and designed to withstand the radiation from a nuclear blast.

The military is less worried about nuclear war and more worried about conflicts like the one in Yugoslavia, said Col. Mike Kelly, a deputy commander. But he said the satellites are still useful and have carried targeting information for cruise missiles.